A meeting chaired by District Collector U. V. Jose here on Thursday decided to educate the public and allay the fears of the landowners over the laying of the GAIL gas pipeline in Kozhikode.
He said the officials of the State-owned gas utility had ensured that they would follow the guidelines relating to safety aspects while laying the pipe lines.
A commission appointed by the Kerala High Court would be apprised of these promises.
The public would be taken into confidence before felling trees and acquiring land for rights of way.
The collector said the presence of Revenue officials attached to the village offices would also be ensured. Landowners would be informed in advance about the land required for laying pipelines.
Transparent process
The property owners would have to examine the document, attest and return to the Revenue officials. The whole process would be done through a transparent process.
The compensation offered to the land acquired would be prompt, the collector said. The meeting was called after Kozhikode MP, M.K. Raghavan suggested one regarding the laying of pipelines at Kottoor, Unnikulam and Thamarassery villages.
Unnikulam grama panchayat president E.T. Benoy, Thamarassery grama panchayat president K. Saraswathy, Action Committee chairman V.T. Pradeepkumar, Deputy Colletcor B. Reghuraj, Koyilandy Tahsildhar K. Ramla and GAIL officials took part in the meeting.
The natural gas pipeline project in Kozhikode district has been facing resistance from local people for quite some time. The pipes have to be laid for around 80 km in the district. Already survey has been completed and rights of way has been obtained for 90% of land.
The project needs 160 hectares to lay pipes. More than 600 people will be affected in the district.
